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Tuesday, June 30, 2009

On Today's Installment of Running with the Wilderness...

I waved to a deer. It didn't wave back. Whenever an animal becomes aware of me, I always feel the need to wave to say hi. The beauty of running when everyone else is still in bed, is that I get to wave to the animals without looking like a looney tune.

I heard an obnoxious cyclist yell, "left, left, left, left..." Since I was as far over on the trail as I could go without running in the ditch, I looked over my shoulder to see a goose honking instead of a cyclist yelling. I'm beginning to think I'm not completely "awake" on my morning runs.

I almost stepped on a toad. Kudos to nature for making that puppy camouflaged to the fullest. In this instance, it was almost NOT in the toad's best interest to be camoed.

I think I may have been incorrect in my previous ostrich siting. On closer review, I think it might be an emu. Boring.

Today I had an easy 4 miles to do. First run of my 1/2 marathon training. WHOO! I did 4 in 36:50 for a pace of 9:13.

1. 9:25

2. 9:10

3. 9:18

4. 8:57

My legs were still REALLY tight, and I finally figured out why.

I thought that I was just really sore from the race, but couldn't figure out why that would be. Then I remembered that on the walk home from the bar on Saturday to her hotel, one of Taylor's friends challenged me to a race. Not to be one to turn down a challenge, I took off sprinting. Of course, the hotel was much farther than we thought it was going to be, so that didn't help either. Well apparently I haven't all out sprinted in, well, forever. Even my "sprint" at the end of runs is really just a harder run. I kind of wish I would've been wearing my garmin so I knew my pace, because I felt like I was flying. I won by the way. :) It pays to not be a girly girl and wear chuck taylor's on a regular basis, although I am lucky that I didn't split my jeans, because those puppies are TIGHT. Hah.

Some pics from the tourney this weekend. This was pre-sprint to your death. And pre-multitude of celebratory spirits. :)